Explosion follows Nato parade in Ukraine

THREE people have been injured in an explosion in Kiev that occurred soon after James Mattis, the US defence secretary, and Nato troops took part in a Ukrainian independence day parade there.

Two women and a man, a veteran of the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, were taken to hospital following a blast near the cabinet of ministers building in downtown Kiev.

Police said they were trying to determine if it had been a grenade or a home-made explosive device.

Yelena Gitlyanskaya, spokesman for the national security service, said it was tentatively considering the incident an act of “hooliganism”. But Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of the national security council, said the authorities were not ruling out a “premeditated terrorist attack” meant to ruin the holiday.

The blast came shortly after Mr Mattis and defence ministers from Canada and several European countries watched a military parade on Kiev’s Maidan square with president Petro Poroshenko. A UK delegation also took part. In a first, Nato soldiers marched with Ukrainian troops to mark Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union.

Mr Mattis held talks with Mr Poroshenko, accusing Russia of not abiding by the Minsk ceasefire agreement and suggesting he could back providing weapons to Ukraine, something Washington has long shied away from.

“Defensive weapons are not provocative unless you are an aggressor and clearly Ukraine is not an aggressor since it is their own territory where the fighting is happening,” he said.